SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – A 51-year-old man is shaken after he was attacked by a stranger in San Francisco’s Mission District. It happened around 11:45 p.m. Tuesday night when the man was walking his dog near 18th Street and Valencia Street.
KRON4 spoke to the victim’s son. He and his wife had to rush from their home in Pacifica to be by his father’s side as he recovers from his injuries.
“I saw him bleeding in the ambulance, like, a lot. I couldn’t even see his face,” said Erick Reyna-Gillmor, the victim’s son.
Reyna-Gillmor says his 51-year-old father Ramon Reyna was kicked in the face by a stranger. Photos show his injuries — he had to get stitches on his forehead and ear.
“The owner of the dog on purpose was telling his dog to attack my dad’s dog, which is a chihuahua, but he saw that the dog didn’t do anything to my dog or my dad,” Reyna-Gillmor said.
Then, he says, the man became aggressive.
“He ran straight to my dad and right before my dad could pick up his dog my dad felt a huge kick in his face,” Reyna-Gillmor continued.
Reyna-Gillmor says neighbors saw the aftermath through the window. They immediately notified his mother, who was home and called police. The family says they now feel different about stepping outside their home.
“It’s Just really heartbreaking because they don’t feel safe,” said Naomi Reyna-Gillmor, the victim’s daughter-in-law. “His mom walks to work right in that area and so she doesn’t feel safe anymore. He’s not safe so it’s been hard.”
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Erick says the man also took his father’s cell phone when he tried to record the suspect after the violence.
“It didn’t seem like he stole his phone. It seemed like he got a random act of violence, nobody can really figure out what was the purpose of that,” he said.
The San Francisco Police Department is investigating the incident. Officers have been canvassing the neighborhood, interviewing witnesses and collecting surveillance video for evidence.